Papatya - Türkisch Deutscher Frauenverein e.V.

Outline for Resourcebook HRV 2004

1 Name of country

Germany

2 Introduction

2.1 Definition

The German network group together developed a definition, using the definition of the Sherazad project (Kvinnoforum 2004) as basis. Since there did not even exist a German word for HRV, the network agreed to translate it in German as "Gewalt im Namen der Ehre".

" Under honour-related violence we understand psychical and physical trespasses, which are carried out in patriarchally structured families, communities and societies.

They are aimed mainly at women and girls. What is meant by the term "honour", is socially constructed and gets interpreted again in every context. "Honour" in this meaning is a term which subordinates freedom and human dignity of the individual under collective claims.

The violent acts are justified as legitimate way to protect or reestablish the (family) honour and to keep up a traditional system of values and norms."

Questions and discussions in the process of building a definition covered aspects as following:

How exotic are the norms of the honour codes? Which bridges can we find to 19th century male duellants in Western Europe killing each other for honour reasons? Which patriarchal structures seem to be similar? Which differences do on the other hand exist, if one takes into consideration that HRV concerns family and community based ideas of honour - not individual ones? Distinguishing between "passion crimes" and "honour crimes" helps to develop a better understanding. In Germany a lot of murders concern women who were attacked by male persons of their close surrounding, most times their partners. Newspapers are full of stories about husbands/fathers who extinguish their whole family after their wives wanted to separate or to divorce them. These men are of most different ethnic backgrounds - German as well as Polish, Turkish or South American to name some.

But while these deeds can be interpreted as brutal last means of individual men who try to take revenge for "individual wounds" they feel they have suffered, perpetrators in cases of HRV try to heal "collective wounds" they imagine their family or community has endured through the misbehaviour of an individual. If a father refuses to sanction his daughter, who has breached the honour code, his brother, her uncle, might take action. Honour codes are not kept up by one family alone, but by communities. Families who change their attitude against honour codes might possibly have to fear harsh reactions and social exclusion from their community.

The definition emphasizes the patriarchal structure of honour codes. They center around the control of female sexuality and reproduction, paternal succession and establish and support male dominance. HRV is no gender-neutral term, even if men can get victims of the honour codes too: they sometimes are objects to forced marriage too, they are attacked if their relationship with a girl/woman is not accepted by the family/community, homosexuality is a strong taboo and they can get pressured if they refuse to control their female relatives` behaviour.

Honour codes are socially constructed, so what is an offense to honour will be defined differently in different families/communities and may change through time. One family sanctions a girl who looks in the eyes of a boy, another sanctions pregnancy of an unmarried girl.

Not only the actual behaviour of a person can be an offense to the honour code. It is appearances that count: allowing yourself to get into a situation, where a breach of honour is possible, can already be an offense. So social control tries to extinguish not only unwanted behaviour but also the occurence of situations, in which unwanted behaviour could possibly happen.

Those who sanction the breach of honour feel legitimated, imagine themselves in a kind of self-defense position where even murder might be the minor evil to shame .

2.2 Policies/guidelines

If HRV occurs in Germany the German society is responsible for taking measures against it.

This is deeply linked with it`s understanding of integration. The major society has to understand HRV as its problem and not as the exotic problem of a few migrant women, which, after costing a few miserable victims will vanish by itself in an ongoing selffulfilling process of integration.

HRV is a taboo subject. Domestic violence was too, until recently and may still be to some extent. HRV is even touchier, since it does not only raise the common "domestic violence"- questions whether society may intervene and invade in "private" matters, but also touches the relationship between major society and ethnic communities.

A human rights perspective has to be introduced and emphasized to make clear that the fight against HRV is not about securing dominant German norms but about securing the rights of all citizens to physical integrity and participation in society.

For many years Germany has not perceived itself as immigration country. Also large groups of the immigrants perceived themselves as longterm visitors who planned to remigrate to their country of origin. Meanwhile there are a second and a third generation of immigrants and it has become clear that they have settled themselves to stay. Discussions are still going on about the multicultural society, about parallel societies and the core values every citizen has to respect. All this will be reflected in the way society deals with HRV: between scandalization and bagatellizazion, ignorance and overeagerness.

The occurence and manifestations of HRV may differ between the countries of origin and Germany. Most of the time the honour codes have not been brought through time and migration unchanged. Members of minority groups often have conservated idealized ideas of traditions which have undergone modernisations in the countries of origin. In addition they tend to see the outside world as more dangerous and full of potential harms for their wives and daughters than a monocultural surrounding. But also they themselves have not left traditions untouched:

The more families fear to be forced into marginalisation, the more dreams of a brilliant future through migration are frustrated, the more fathers and brothers have to face the loss of influence in the outside world they seem to need to keep up their power about women and children.

This connection between percepted loss of power and readiness to violence may be true for German men as well, but in the context of honour codes it can get very dangerous for the potential victims. In a kind of reactive culturalism especially marginalized families want their daughters to demonstrate that the parents are still in control of their own life, in connection with their country of origin and their past. This may be why honour codes on women seem to be more persistent than on men.

HRV roots not only in traditons but also in marginalisation. Therefore it is closely connected to integration and its success or failure.To rise the possibilities of participation in work and society, stimulating successful education processes will have indirect consequences on HRV too.

Interventions aiming at extinguishing HRV on individual level will touch core values of the families/communities for whom honour codes are central. This may not be possible without confrontation and conflict. Persons who support victims of HRV, may they be professionals or not, may they be of ethnic or German background, can get at risk too.

2.3 Methodology

Papatya, crisis facility for girls with a migrant background who face familiy conflicts, is Kvinno-forum`s partner in Germany. It is situated in Berlin.

Germany has a federal structure with 16 federal states all following policies of their own in a lot of relevant areas (schools, prevention, police). To get a complete overview about the activities everywhere is almost impossible.

To bundle efforts Papatya decided for a close cooperation with the human rights organisation Terre des Femmes which fights women` s human rights violations. In 2004/2005 it has put its emphasis on the work against HRV and is involved in a Daphne project on European level.

Terre des Femmes is an experienced campaigner with knowledge about political structures. It is based in Southern Germany but through city groups of volunteers gets information from places allover Germany. Terre des Femmes and Papatya have cooperated before in TdFs 2002 campaign against forced marriage. They have worked together at official hearings, in developing information material and at direct referrals of girls who sought help at Terre des Femmes to Papatya.

Another existing network easy to involve was the Berlin Work Group Against Forced Marriage (Berliner Arbeitskreis gegen Zwangsverheiratung)which organizes NGOs, officials and politi-cians on a local level.

Main focus of 2004`s of the German activities in this Kvinnoforum project to fight HRV were two network meetings of different social actors (school, police, social services, NGOs, lawyers) in Berlin. A third one is planned in November 2004.

Partners to the network were invited according to existing contacts which had been built around the above mentioned campaign against forced marriage. Some institutions were contacted newly (for example police, politicians, researchers).

At present the network is acting as a kind of pioneer group bringing together ideas and impressions of different social areas and trying to start some kind of snowballing effect. It hopes to find more participants as well as to gather all existing relevant information. First it had to work out it`s own understanding of HRV. Both meetings started with input lectures (by Terre des Femmes, Papatya, a lawyer and an official of the ministry of Justice of Baden-Würtemberg) and went on with work groups. The work groups` subjects were determined by the plenum according to the most important aspects it wanted to have covered.

Written protocols document the discussion processes and their outcome. Terre des Femmes has established an internet platform for the network members where they can share information.

At the second meeting some of the members took over special tasks in their fields.

With some of them Papatya has planned shared further activities, to name the most important:

- in cooperation with the Berlin Intervention Centre Against Domestic Violence (BIG: Berliner Interventionsstelle gegen häusliche Gewalt, see appendix) the Kvinnoforum questionnaire, which was used before in S, NL and Finland, was spread to about 100 women`s shelters and counselling centres allover Germany to inform about knowledge and occurence of HRV in anti-violence networks. The answers are still coming in. Conclusions one already can draw confirm, that HRV is no common category until now.

- A small workgroup formed in order to identify bureaucratic factors (regulations on birth certificates, social security money, health insureance etc.) which make it possible that victims of HRV who want to hide from their families can be traced. Proposals for concrete changes here have to be made and lobbied..

Not all invited to the network meetings did attend, especially migrants organisations did not respond. Actors considered "key persons" in their field were tried to reach through personal telephone calls, they got sent protocols and were asked about their opinions and activities.

Complementary specialised actors are looked for by internet search - researchers, institutions in the field of prevention of violence, activities at schools, migrant women`s organisations and especially NGOs working with boys/men. This is not easy and still an ongoing activity.

Together the network chooses for a multilevel way of working: trying to raise public consciousness, trying to stimulate research, forcing politicians to get aware of a need to respond,

and at the same time taking concrete measures for better help for individual victims.

3 Occurrence

3.1 General overview

Germany is named in UN- and EU-Reports as one of the countries, where honour killings occur. In all cases known to us members of the ethnic migrant communities were the victims.

Honour-related violence is part of the work of most women`s shelters, it is present at counselling centres, in police work and at schools - only to name some. But until 2004 there was no word to name it in German, opening a category summing up all the different social acts from forced marriage and female genital mutilation to more subtle forms of limitations layed upon an individual by a family/group. In short words: nobody counted anything concerning HRV until now, because nobody knew the category. So translating the term HRV and promoting its use is a first, but very important basis to be able to get an overview of the occurence.

For Papatya this category helps a lot in making its self-definition clearer and conciser. All the

60 to 70 girls each year, who seek shelter at Papatya since its opening in 1986, flee not only from family violence. Their desperate need of a secret address results from the honour codes their families cling to. HRV may not be the initial reason why they had to flee, but when they had to leave their home, this by itself is percepted as a major violation of the honour code and will drive their families to action.

Papatya is keeping detailed statistics from the first day on. So it can produce figures about the occurence of HRV in detail also.

What is unclear is the representativity of the data: do they form the tip of the iceberg or are they the few hard cases representing mainly themselves?

Honour Killings

From time to time individual cases reach the media but unlike in Sweden and in the Netherlands they are not followed by governmental actions until now. The crime statistics of the police which is ascertained each year the same way in every federal state does count the number of delicts of a certain category. Gender of victims and the relationship between victim and offender are given, but information about the nature of the relationship is not very detailed.

Murder and manslaughter 2003: completed attempted

Female victims: 426 639

Male victims: 433 1360

Relationship victim/offender	Murder against Men	Attempts against men	Murder against women	Attempts against women
Relative	22,7 %	11,7 %	49,3 %	38,7 %
Acquaintance	36,5 %	29,6 %	31, 0 %	39,1 %
Compatriot*	4,4 %	5,4 %	0,0 %	0,8 %
Casual Acquaintance	11,5 %	13,9 %	4,7 %	3,8 %
No relationship	13,6 %	26,8 %	7,0 %	11,1 %
Unclear	11,8 %	12,6 %	8,0 %	6,6 %

*same nationality, no relative, no acquaintance

How many of these killings are honour killings is unknown.

The Federal Deputy on Integration (Bundesbeauftragte für Integration) 2004 started efforts to get an overview in short time but gave up because of the lack of reliable sources for data.

Papatya has collected a number of cases which reached the media (supraregional newspapers) and published them in a small booklet in order to stimulate further research. Even this quite casual and superficial approach showed 5 potential honour killings already in 2004 in Berlin only. Only those cases were summed up in which honour as a possible motive in the background was named.

In a period of eight years (1996-2004) already 59 potential cases of HRV ( almost all of them murder or manslaughter ) were found all-over Germany. Most of these cases reached the papers when a trial against the offender was opened. Almost half of the victims (42 %) were men, some of them in the case of blood feuds.

The dark field is also not known. Murderers/offenders can be imported from abroad for a short time, more likely honour crimes can be exported. Victims of HRV, who are convicted by their families, can be brought to the country of the family`s origin to cover traces easily, without stirring any investigation. Honour killings could be covered as suicides or accidents.

Forced marriage

Since 2002 there is some attention on forced marriage. This is due to the activities of NGOs bundled by Terre des Femmes, who raised public awareness through information campaigns and distribution of information material. Forced marriage got some media coverage. In 2002 the Berlin city government counted 230 cases of forced marriage which were reported at counselling centres and women and girls shelters. The Federal Ministry for Family, Women, Seniors and Youth (Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend) engaged the Centre for Women`s Studies (Frauenforschungszentrum) Bielefeld for a nationwide survey on violence on women. Special research concentrated on East European and Turkish migrant women. The Turkish women were questioned about their marriage. Half of the marriages was arranged by relatives. 25 % of the women concerned had not been asked for their opinion. Also one quarter of the married Turkish women did not know their husband before marriage. 75 % agreed with the choice of their relatives, 23 % would have preferred to choose their husband themselves and about 2 % gave no comment. 17 % said they felt forced into marriage. A connection between forced marriage and later violence of the partner could not be proven.

At Papatya about 30 % of the girls face forced marriage, in 2003 there were 20 cases, a lot of them were minors and most of them ran away before they were married legally. Forced marriage has to be seen as an important issue of child protection since already 12-year-olds can be affected.

Violence and threats

Women`s shelters do not differentiate between domestic violence and HRV. Specialised organisations like Papatya see 60-70 girls a year who have to stay at a secret place because they are threatened by their families. Over 80 % of them have been beaten severely, 30 % of their mothers face domestic violence. Codes of honour are closely connected to gender and age hierarchies which are kept up violently if threatened. A survey of the Federal Ministry of Family, Seniors, Women and Youth on the educational means and attitudes of Turkish parents showed a still widespread acceptance of violence against children. Connections to honour codes are not emphasized in the survey, but seem obvious. Another recent research of this Ministry on Turkish migrant women showed a higher risk of physical violence through a partner for them (38 %) than for the German average (25 %), the reasons for this are not interpreted.

(Research often concentrates on Turkish/Kurdish migrants because they form the far biggest migrant group in Germany with about 2 million people.)

Kidnapping to country of family`s origin

If potential victims of HRV do not behave according to the family`s wishes they are disciplined by the threat to bring them abroad, where no one will be able to help them. With girls this often happens during summer holidays. How many do not return and are held against their will, nobody counts. Single cases reach the media - like a whole school in Berlin fighting for the return of two teenager girls from Jordan.

Female genital mutilation

The Federal Bureau for Statistics (Statistisches Bundesamt) estimates that 38.000 women concerned live in Germany. The Centre for Family Planning and Sexuality sees about 6000 girls every year in acute danger to be mutilated, a lot of girls are brought abroad for their maiming.

Milder forms of HRV are even more difficult to register. A lot of girls are not allowed to go on class holidays (Klassenreisen), women and girls are secluded in the family`s house and never allowed to go out alone, they are verbally insulted as whores, they have to follow rules concerning their looks/ clothing, are forbidden further education etc. Papatya has developed a guided interview for girls taken in. They are asked about rules they had to obey at home and about their views on honour. This will deliver smallscale but actual information. Results will not be due before 2005.

4 Support

4.1 General overview (existing/needed)

Victims of HRV can come from most diverse backgrounds and may have different legal statuses which will effect the social support they will be able to get. Asylum seekers with a short residence permit or young import brides speaking no German will face a lot more difficulties than German nationals of the third generation. Especially young import brides are an extremely vulnerable group. Their contacts to the outside world can be limited totally and they have no relatives to support them. Those rare cases, in which they have looked for help successfully, show, how isolated and controlled their situation as a household slave to their in-laws can be. Since Germany had nothing like integration courses for newcomers until now (this is about to change according to the new Immigration Act (2004, Zuwanderungsgesetz)) they totally depended on their own private attempts to learn the language or inform themselves about German society. Often they were misinformed about their rights and chances by their in-laws in order to keep them under strict control.

At the moment a change in attitudes at counselling agencies and the police starts: from the idea that victims of domestic violence seek support actively towards more proactive strategies. Counselling centres (up to now in Berlin and Mecklenburg-West Pomerania) phone or visit women in their own homes or at other meeting points after the police has informed them about incidents of domestic violence. Evaluation shows that this proves extremely valuable for immigrant women, especially with language difficulties, in social isolation or without knowledge of the German support system. Interpreting services can be called in if the notion of the police indicates their necessity. Proactive support systems identify structural obstacles, lower barriers and reduce pressure on the police.

Direct support for female victims of HRV is provided through those organisations which offer support in cases of domestic violence too. About 400 women`s shelters in total exist in every region. At big cities 50-80 % of the their clients have a non-German background. In many cases the security and support the shelters are able to offer are not sufficient for victims of HRV.

Because all members of their community might look for them, they often have to change the city to cover tracks. The break with the family leaves them in isolation, since they often were not allowed to have friends of their own. If they have friends or colleagues the family knows about, these might be in danger too. They often have no income and lack education as well as residence and work permits of their own. Their language skills may be poor and they may be ashamed to tell about their problems and be insecure whether they are understood and secured properly.

Staff of multiethnic background, which could ease some of these aspects, is an aim at women`s shelters, but not a reality until now.

Only at Berlin since 2001 there is a specialised intercultural women`s shelter and counselling centre (Interkulturelles Frauenhaus, see appendix) for women with a migrant background. Girls suffering from HRV, who decide to leave their home can turn to Papatya as a crisis centre and immediately be taken in. In cases of need also girls from other German cities up to the age of 21 years can come. Other specialised organisations offer long-term sheltered residence for girls: (see appendix).

The importance of specialised organisations lies in their function as knot in a network: a lot of other organisations can refer to them in case of need. For girls and women they open an ability to choose whether the "normal" support of un-specialised organisations is sufficient for them or whether they need stricter security, more dense care and more definite intercultural knowledge.

While female victims can find some support under the roof of existing NGOs for domestic violence - even if it may be inadequate in some aspects - there is no support for males.

In some aspects their risks will be smaller: If a boy flees from home because he is forced to marry, the family will not be afraid he could lose his virginity. But if he starts a relationship with a girl against the wishes of her family he will be in danger too. Most cases of men murdered in the name of honour have this background.

Also being a homosexual is an absolute offense to honour codes. Homosexuality is that taboo that it is rarely spoken about. In Berlin the organisation MILES (see appendix) has started to fight for the rights of homosexuals of ethnic background, offers counselling and stepped into the open with posters and information material.

A pilot study on interpersonal violence against men in Germany has just been published (see appendix). There is no special research on migrant men and HRV.

5 Prevention

5.1 General overview (existing/needed)

Better integration is an important aspect of prevention of HRV. Generally the perception of gender roles tends to depend on level of education and social position. Marginalisation can explain - not excuse - violence to some extent. The German National Action Plan states the risks of migrants for unemployment and resulting poverty to be double.

Central to prevention is further, that victims of HRV have access to support outside their families. Early lowlevel intervention may help to forecome escalations. For minors schools are the easiest accessible place where adults can be approached, but teachers can not perform alone. They depend on reliable cooperation with as well Youth Social Services as NGOs, which can shelter in case of need.

In many German cities NGOs provide counselling centres for women/girls of migrant or a certain ethnic background. They offer German courses, sewing courses, courses of alphabetization and give women the opportunity to meet other women as well as seek professional assistance in legal, social or psychological matters. To keep their influence these centres have to balance between empowerment of women and their perception as "harmless" in the ethnic communities. If they are suspected to "spoil families", women/girls will not be allowed to come anymore.

The medical system is another important actor - especially for imported brides. Often victims of HRV have (psycho)somatic symptoms, sometimes they attempt suicide (about 20 % of the girls before coming to Papatya), often injuries of batterings have to be treated. Even the very confined living girls/women are allowed to see a doctor, who can insist on seeing the patient confidentially and alone. Despite its importance cooperation between medical system and other actors is still an exception. In Berlin the project Signal (see appendix)is a model for sensibilisation of hospital staff on the identification and treatment of cases of domestic violence (not especially HRV).

Recent research shows that about one third of the victims of domestic violence in Germany has to seek medical help and that migrant women are injured more severely. Doctors also are the first group which is approached by victims for support. Only secondly they turn to counselling agencies/women`s shelters or to the police (Bundesministerium für Familie, 2004). The possible impact of the health system is again underlined.

Papatya is busy establishing internet counselling in German and Turkish at present in a sponsored project. Surveys show, that especially young people seek help in the internet and respond very well to counselling services presented there. Internet counselling is approachable from any place and the clients can stay totally anonymous. A special server secures, that no traces a left on the computer from which the service is approached.

A secret address is vital for victims of HRV, who flee. Specialised NGOs like Rosa, Kardelen, Saadet and Papatya (see appendix)try to guarantee this.

Papatya as the only crisis facility of these has the concept to offer high-level safety on one hand, but seek to establish and escort some form of contact between girl and family on the other. In this confrontation the intercultural staff takes the side of the girl and supports her in developing a new perspective of her further life. Often this setting can de-escalate conflicts, but it can also provide a quite dependable risk assessment for the girl, if she decides to leave her family definitely. Parents, who might have overacted and done harm, if they found the girl at a friend`s place, accept her stay with an all-women team, who guards her around the clock. Girls, who might have misjudged the family`s reaction on their leave get a more realistic picture.

This definitely helps to prevent honour killings as the worst outcome of escalated conflicts.

5.2. Discussion

Prevention is needed at all levels. Policies on integration exist only marginally. Unlike Sweden or the Netherlands who have concepts and a long experience on integration and language courses for newcomers, Germany starts only this year with activities. The National Action Plan on Poverty and Social Exclusion names migrants and women who are affected by domestic violence both as vulnerable groups but does not connect both risks in identifying the double discrimination women of migrant communities might face.

The slow start of government activities for integration has to be enhanced. Especially the performance of young migrants in education is alarming as the PISA survey shows.

Primary prevention activities concerning HRV which aim directly at changing attitudes are not existent until now. Not only the attitudes of migrant communities should be targeted, professionals at social services, police, schools and in the juridical system also have to be qualified.

6 Co-operation

6.1 General overview (existing/future)

Cooperation on HRV is established through the network meetings for the first time.

A lot of informal cooperation before has been established around case work.

Cooperation in the field of domestic violence is well developed as a result of yearlong activities of the feminist movement. Many NGOs are connected, a lot of local networks in cities and districts exist. Intervention Projects against domestic violence have been established. Recent evaluation shows the success of their approach. They serve as important centres for exchange of informations and lobbying. Especially close cooperation with the police is quite well established through them. The Berlin intervention project is involved in the network against HRV. Some women lawyers have specialised in representing victims of HRV and are active also on political level.

Cooperation between NGOs and the medical system still happens only occasionally. Especially the cooperation of NGOs with psychiatric hospitals, where victims of HRV may be brought, is extremely difficult.

Cooperation with migrants` organisations is important for primary prevention of HRV, but not easy to achieve. Organisations like Terre des Femmes and Papatya, who lobby the situation of victims of HRV and who, like Papatya, hide girls from their families, can not run the risk of unratable confrontation and have to pick their partners with caution. The position of migrants` organisations too is not easy: Often they do not want to raise subjects, which in the eyes of German society possibly put them in the "oppressed women/violent men" corner voluntarily and have to be approached. Some of them put emphasis on a rigid preservation of their culture and might see the fight against HRV as an attack on family values. For others the trust of the community is essential to be able to do their work and they cannot afford to be connected with taboo-subjects. Third ones deny that such backward tendencies (as forced marriage) do exist in their community at all anymore.

Primary prevention needs political support and should be encouraged by government institutions. The impulses for cooperation with officials and authorities seem to have to come from the NGOs. So far government institutions or politicians have taken only little action and although invited to network meetings did take part only at a small level. An encouraging step was the Federal Ministry for Youth`s initiative for a hearing about forced marriage in 2002.

Papatya has built up an international network of NGOs which support girls of ethnic background through a Daphne project. This will make sure that results of this Kvinnoforum project will be made known in Austria too, from where no organisation participates.

Cooperation with the media is a balance between publishing on the subject and avoiding scandalization. Sensitive, committed journalists can be of great help. Victims of HRV appearing in the media will find public respondence quite easily, but they have to be advised very thoroughly. If they step out into the open this can increase their risks and lay traces.

7 Schools

7.1 General overview

Schools have a most important role in prevention and first aid for victims. Very often school is the only place where girls, who live very restricted by their families, are allowed to go. Teachers and school social workers are the ones who first register if a girl is in trouble. Schools are the first ones to report missing girls after school holidays, who probably have been left in the home-country of the parents, to Youth Social Services (if they are interested there...). Sports teachers notice the physical traces of violence. Schools can help to make a risk assessment of the potential violence of a family and give information about their long-term impressions of the girl.

All this is not included in the official duties of schools but anyhow provided by teachers and head teachers who take interest in their pupils.

Social workers are present at some schools but no matter of course. Where they exist, they are frequented a lot and often take an active role in helping a girl escape.

Schools are "Ländersache" (federal states concern), which results in an incalculable caleidoscope of small local initiatives of violence prevention and mediation projects between NGOs, police and schools.

Terre des Femmes has developed a teacher`s handbook on forced marriage as well as a training program for teachers. Further initiatives on HRV are not known.

7.2 Discussion

Schools find themselves in the middle of a discussion process about their role and duties right now. Germany`s bad results at the PISA test have shaken the officials, the whole-day school is promised to be introduced, schools are expected to fight youth delinquency, increasing drug and alcohol abuse, violence in the schoolyard and everywhere, and - in future - teach German to the newcome foreign mothers of their pupils. For most of this there are neither concepts nor sufficient financial or staff resources. Also the education of teachers does not prepare them for these tasks. So often teachers feel left alone. If they are confronted with forms of HRV, their support seems to be a private decision. If a family suspects them of supporting a girl, they may be threatened too. Cooperation between schools and Youth Social Services has to be stimulated.

8 Social services

8.1 General overview

Although the laws they follow are the same all over Germany, social services are organizied differently in each municipality, which again makes an overview difficult.

What is true for all regions: Since some years there seems to be an unwritten policy along with the written one about case work and support, which forces the social workers to think about saving public money as much as about the individual case. This affects all people looking for help, but it makes it more difficult for victims of HRV to get listened to and be understood properly. Empiric research about access of girls to Youth social servies proves that support begins at a later age, problems have become more manifest, professional attention is lower, sheltering at crisis facilities is needed more often and that the girls often have to apply for support very actively, all in comparison to boys.

Social Services are often not easy to approach. Sometimes it takes days to find out who is responsible and responsibilities often change. Emergency lines exist only seldom.

Very often the legal demands of clients have to be emphasized and pushed through with the help of supporting professionals from shelters or counselling centres. One of the major concerns of NGOs working with young people at the moment is that Youth Social Services deny their responsibility for anyone older than 18. According to the law there are possibilities for support up to the age of 27 but actually even 17 1/2 year olds have to fight for help and often are turned down.

Victims of HRV often wait until they are adult before they seek assistance. The restrictions they faced at home have left them unaccustomed to independence and they have to build up a completely new life. They desperately need more than to be thrown into a vacuum with just some financial support.

Due to financial restraints supervision for Social Services staff is rare, education and training often are limited to the utmost extent. So the knowledge about intercultural aspects as well as about other subjects often is dependant on the individual social worker`s initiative and private efforts to gain more information and skills.

Staff of different ethnic background is still an exception although the slogan "intercultural opening of social services" (interkulturelle Öffnung der sozialen Dienste) exists for decennia now. Even if there is a staff member of - for example - Turkish background it is sometimes an unwritten policy to refer all "Turkish" cases to her/him, which also does not help in the process of intercultural sensibilisation as an important basis qualification for all staff. These scarce "country experts" can play a very problematic role for victims of HRV. Sometimes they sympathize and identify too much with the family/community and put womens` and childrens` rights second. If their interpretation of a case is accepted as non-discutable truth by the German staff, the victims chances to get listened to turn minimal.

The attitudes of staff differ a lot. In general there is a lack of sensibilisation on the situation of victims of HRV - especially, if the family does not look conservative (mother wears no headscarf!) and behaves very politely against the official, who is not capable to imagine the existence of polite complaisance towards an authority and brutal disposal over a daughter in one and the same person. Tendencies of cultural relativism of social workers with German background, who want to avoid to be called racist at any price, can be found as well as discriminating attitudes, which want to free girls of an intolerably backward culture without further consideration. Often girls and women are confronted with a social worker who thinks to know beforehand that their strong family ties will make them return home anyway and who does not want to spend a lot of energy on them.

The juridical basis for the work of Youth Social Services with minors, the Child and Youth Support Act (Kinder- und Jugendhilfegesetz.), gives parents a very strong position (see legal system).The only support minors can apply for on their own is to be taken into care in case of their threatened well-being. Social Services have to inform the parents as soon as possible. If the conflicts cannot be mitigated a family court has to decide.

In cases of HRV staff members sometimes can get in a very difficult and even dangerous situation. If they refuse the family`s wish for immediate reunification and keep the address of the child secret, they can be threatened too. Since their names and offices are known they can get under strong pressure.

8.2 Discussion

The double role of social services to support and to control can be of great help for victims of HRV. If their situation is recorded properly there, this means emotional as well as juridical, financial and social support very close to their needs. This possible positive influence can be turned negative to the same extent. Lack of resources and lack of professional responsibility of the social worker can lead to high risks, resignation and surrender at the victim`s side.

Contrary to their important role social workers at social services seem to be left alone by their institution. Their workload is often enormous, training is often not provided and not stimulated, supervision scarce, they are rotated through the institution by everchanging plans of organisation and they are often not protected, if they are threatened by families in cases of HRV.

Emergency centres which take in cases of HRV should be financed in total and not depend on money which Social Services hands out to individuals whose legal demand they accept.

If girls/young women depend on Social Services first to accept their claim before they can be referred to a shelter, this can lead their unvisibleness despite of their often desperate situation. The Köln "House for Girls with an islamic background" WASTA had to close in 2004 because the lack of referrals through Social Services.

Women with a unclear residence permit, girls from other districts/cities and young adults in need are often sent away with the information that there is no legal basis to support them.

Qualification and supervision of social workers is desperately needed.

9 Police

9.1 General overview

The federal structure of Germany again structures the organisational division of the police. The State Criminal Police Office (Landeskriminalamt) of every federal state has administrative duties but also brings out main points according to federal state`s policies - especially concerning prevention.

The Berlin LKA department for "behaviour-orientated prevention" was easy to approach and very ready to cooperate on HRV.

They are experienced in the yearlong cooperation with NGOs on domestic violence and sexual violence already. If it was politically wanted, the department would be ready to investigate about the occurence of HRV. It holds itself also responsible to think about better measures for the safety of victims.

The Berlin LKA cooperates with the LKAs of other federal states at regular meetings and is willing to spread information about HRV there too.

The Bundeskriminalamt BKA is responsible for all homicides which have a cross-border dimension, for big accidents with a lot of deaths and for background research.

Honour-related violence is no subject until now. The BKA sends cooperating officers to Europol meetings as the Europol conference on HRV at The Hague in June 2004 where Papatya was invited to.The BKA representative estimates, that only a comparatively small number of the 900 murders a year could be honour killings.

9.2 Discussion

Cooperation of police and NGOs has proved to increase the safety of victims of domestic violence a lot. The police is serious about ist crime prevention duties and will be a valuable ally in mitigating HRV, if it gets sufficient staff resources to work on this issue.

10 The legal system

10.1 General overview

Criminal law: Offenses connected to HRV are gathered and prosecuted mainly under: bodily injury, murder, manslaughter and duress/constraint. Jurisdiction on lower court levels can not be overseen. Concerning ethnic background/ honour-related motives as mitigating circumstances in a murder trial the German Supreme court (Bundesgerichtshof) stated in a complicated reasoning that different moral standards resulting from a non-German ethnic background cannot be considered as mitigating.

Since 2002 Germany has introduced a new law on domestic violence (Gewaltschutzgesetz) which follows the slogan: "hit out and you clear out".Based on the legal mandate to avert danger police can take the offender into custody and can prohibit him to approach the victim and house for some time, even if he is the tenant or owner of the house. For victims of HRV this is not sufficient: they are not safe, when the offender is forced away, but his brother and uncles stand on the doorstep the minute after he had to leave. Also in general trespasses against issued injunctions are not easy to sanction.

Concerning domestic violence in general the public prosecution services still see victims as witnesses at first and rarely impose sanctions. Public interest in prosecution is very often denied and dismissal rates are high.

A lawyer at the HRV network meeting told about her experiences in representing women at court. She concludes with the thesis, that women who are potential victims of HRV are in fact denied of their rights, because they can not be protected, if they claim them. From her practical experience she demands a right to withhold testimony (Zeugnisverweigerungsrecht) also for women, who are no relative to the offender, because the legal constraint to testify can result in acute danger to be violated or killed.

For battered women with children the positive effects of the above named Gewaltschutzgesetz (Protection from Violence Act) are counteracted by a new law on parental custody. Before this law in cases of divorce and separation the parental custody normally stayed with the mother. Now the "right of the child to both parents" is guaranteed. In cases of domestic violence - and HRV- the father`s right to see the child can mean great danger for both mother and child. Women`s groups fight against the worst consequences and lobby for a priority of the Violence Protection Act over the Act about Shared Parental Custody.

Terre des Femmes` campaign against forced marriage has inspired the federal state of Baden-Würtemberg to launch a political initiative for changes in the law. Forced marriage should be prosecuted as offense of it`s own and judged no more under duress/constraint but under trafficking. Also the Foreigners Act (Ausländerrecht) should be changed through this initiative.

Until now spouses get an independent right of residence if their marriage has existed for two years. This forces a lot of women to stay in violent relationships because they fear to be sent back to their countries of origin if they flee. In their home countries as divorced women they often face stigmatization, social exclusion and poverty. In cases of particular hardship - for example domestic violence - they can get a residence permit of their own earlier. Following the Baden-Würtemberg initiative forced marriage should always be treated as hardship.

An additional item concerns kidnappings: If non-German nationals are brought abroad for forced marriage or other reasons his/her status of residence seizes to exist after half a year. This brings a lot of hardship on victims, who cannot immigrate back to Germany again, when they finally succeed to persuade their family to let them return. The initiative wants to secure their right of residence if they were abducted.

Laws for asylum and refuge: Since summer 2004 Germany has a new Immigration Act (Zuwanderungsgesetz), which recognises genderbased reasons to grant asylum.Women and girls who face HRV can now seek refuge on this basis.

Child protection: The right of children and young people to non-violent education is granted by the law. But the legislation of the Children and Youth Support Act (Kinder- und Jugendhilfe-gesetz) puts the parents`right to decide about the education of their children very high.

From the age of 15 minors can apply to family courts if they wish to leave their family against its will. The jurisdiction is difficult to predict, but mainly follows the objective that in cases of violence the parental custody is withdrawn. It depends on the individual judge what proof for violence is wanted - medical certificates are best, witnesses who spoke to the Youth Social Services are good, a statement only by the girl is not always sufficient.

Girls who complain "only" about restrictions of their freedom often are sent back. Their situation then has worsened a lot, so it`s no wonder girls are very scared to go to courts and only dare, if they are accompanied and encouraged. Empathic Youth Social Services can disburden them a lot, if they apply for them or support them.

Family courts decisions can only be changed by a higher court. Girls who have been sent back normally do not have nor the strength and courage, nor the possibility, to follow this path.

Minors of foreign nationality have to be treated equally to German minors, if their nation has signed the The Hague Minor Protection Act (Haager Minderjährigen-Schutzabkommen).

This is not always known to officials, who might tell the daughters of asylum seekers that they can not live apart from their families.

10.2 Discussion

Training and information of members of the jurisdiction is highly necessary. Rights of children in family conflicts have to be strengthened. Since some years the participation of the new profession of Verfahrenspfleger (a sort of child`s advocate)at family court trials could be helpful. Their effect is limited because it is up to the judge to decide whether they are called in or not.

11 Research

11.1 General overview

There does not exist any research on HRV in general. Concerning forced marriage there are some related surveys ongoing. The Berlin Institute for Comparative Research (Berliner Institut für Vergleichende Sozialforschung) has finished a study on marriage migration in 2004, covering also marriage agencies. It was financed through the Daphne program. Forced marriage is a part of it. Concerning potential numbers of victims it has no statistics.

Also on the subject of forced marriage the survey of the Ministry for Women (see above page 6) is able to present numbers for the first time.

Possibly linked to aspects of HRV is a survey the Federal Ministry of Youth commissioned the University of Magdeburg with. Research has shown that children from migrant families with low social position face a two- to threetimes higher risk to get victim of parental violence (Kriminologisches Forschungsinstitut Niedersachsen, see page 7). This is especially emphasized under preventional aspects because the intergenerational passing-on of violence is well-known. The survey will compare attitudes of Turkish, Turkish-German and German families on education and violence.

In order to stimulate more research Terre des Femmes, the network and Papatya have launched some "pretests" (see above).

The network decided to invent a short questionnaire which could be used by social services and NGOs covering the occurence of the most outstanding aspects of HRV so as murder, murder attempts, forced marriage and bodily assaults.

11.2 Discussion

HRV is a very sensible subject. A lot of surveys show, that the stigmatisation of ethnic minorities as criminal, backward, not integrated, women-oppressing etc. are not covered by reality.

The existence of HRV can stimulate prejudices which are difficult to overcome anyway. But its existence cannot be denied and the victims` human rights have to be guaranteed. Politicians and authorities will not act until more data are available but are at least responsible to stimulate research. The German Information Protection Act (Datenschutzgesetz) allows questions about religion, politics and ethnic background only for very substancial research purposes. Data have to be anonymized and persons interviewed have to give their consent to their use.

12 NGOs

12.1 General overview

For long years government policies concentrated on limitation of immigration and remigration of migrant workers. Activities for integration like language courses, social and juridical counselling depended on the commitment of NGOs, who often have to fight a constant battle for their financial survival. The new Immigration Act (Zuwanderungsgesetz 2004) might bring improvements in some fields, at the same time the financial situation of many long established NGOs gets worse. Also concerning the mitigation of HRV NGOs will have to be the central actor rising awareness and supporting victims.

An overview of all NGO activities in Germany is not possible. They often depend on public money from governmental bodies although they try to raise funding from other sources too. Specialised shelters are often more expensive than "general" institutions which holds the risk that Social Services will refuse to pay for them.

Although HRV is present at many NGOs they will not have named it like that until now.

Women`s Rights Organisations as Terre des Femmes and Amnesty International for Women will campaign against HRV from autumn 2004 on. Both organisations engage with others in KOK, a German-wide coordination group against trafficking and violence against migrant women.

Support for Girls

Intercultural Meetingpoints for Girls (Interkulturelle Mädchenläden)

Social work aimed at the empowerment of girls has become a work field of its own since the 70s.

Sometimes youth activity centres (Jugendfreizeitzentren) started girl groups as a special activity, sometimes special places for girls were opened. With the number of girls with a migrant background growing, the female social workers often undertook great efforts to make these places accessible for girls and young women from strict patriarchal families too. They tried to persuade the families that their daughters would be supported in their homework from school, that thay would meet only girls and women and that they would look after the girls properly.

These girls`cafés and meeting points often are low-level for girls to approach and have an important role also in detecting and supporting cases of HRV. (for some examples: see appendix)

Shelters for girls, some with a secret address, do exist in some German cities. The extent of sensibilisation on issues connected to HRV will differ. IMMA (Initiative Münchener Mädchen-arbeit) at Munich and the Mädchennotdienst Wildwasser Berlin (Emergency Service for Girls Berlin) have engaged themselves against forced marriage. Both offer counselling as well as shelter.

Specialised shelters for girls Longterm housing is available in some German cities, short-term crisis intervention and sheltering up to now can be offered by Papatya in Berlin only.

Support for Women

Women`s Neighbourhood Centres

In a similar way as girls`centres meeting centres for women were founded. Today they often multitask and offer a lot of activities from language and alphabetization courses over juridical and psychological counselling to higher level education courses which increase the qualification of migrant women. They try to be as easily accessible for women as possible and may offer first help on HRV (some examples: see appendix)

The only specialised Women`s Shelter is the Interkulturelle Frauenhaus at Berlin.

12.2 Discussion

The safety of life and the protection from bodily harm are basic rights governments have to guarantee their citizens - all citizens. Germany performs quite well on European level concerning the sheltering it can offer both to victims of domestic violence and HRV. Professional experiences on how to support victims of HRV who leave their home have been made since almost 20 years. The German performance on measures for integration looks poor in comparison.

But the funding of NGOs which work against domestic violence and HRV is no fine-weather-task which can be stopped if government`s bodies budgets get smaller. Currently a lot of these NGOs are facing financial cuts which endanger their work. At the same time more activities on prevention and professional education are needed.

For this NGOs need cooperating partners in the authorities who support their work and politicians who set the mitigation of HRV on their agenda.

13 Best practice

Despite the long existence of HRV its mitigation is still a field for pioneers. Germany has some small projects sheltering girls which turn out to be best practice also in European context, since they respond to the special needs of victims of HRV. Concerning domestic violence in general there are some organisations which also are examples for best practice. Although they do not address HRV specially they have established cooperation-models which can be built on and adjusted also for fighting against HRV.

Concerning public and political awareness the multi-dimensional campaign against forced marriage of Terre des Femmes clearly shows results. Terre des Femmes has organised hearings in cooperation with the ministries and politicians, has held conferences on the subject, published a handbook and a teaching manual for schools.

Papatya: Shelter for girls and young women with a migrant background, since 1986

Papatya offers an utmost possible extent of security and the support of an intercultural team.

The intake does not depend on Social Services` permission since the financial basis is produced by funding of the City of Berlin. Papatya can provide immediate intake and round-the-clock-service. The staff is taking the side of the girls but also stimulating contacts with the family. It centers on the wishes of the girls but takes their ambivalence concerning their family into consideration. It uses the self-support potential of the girls group and offers allround support concerning medical, juridical, financial, educational issues in order to build up a starting point for a better future for the girls. Apart from safety the empowerment of the girls is an important aim.

Each girl is encouraged to search for her perspective on her life, her past and her future and supported to make her voice heard. Papatya`s concept of an only-female place with strict curfew regulations is suited to soothe the parents` fears and to support the possibility for family talks.

The stay at Papatya produces a risk assessment of the danger produced by the family and expertise for the longterm placement of the girls.

Two more projects are not addressing HRV especially but are best practice in the field of domestic violence.

BIG e.V. Berlin Intervention Project on Domestic Violence

Model Project of the Federal Ministry of Women, Youth, Seniors and Family from 1995-2001.

BIG has built up continuous and systematic communication and cooperation between women's protection projects, administrative departments of the Berlin Senate, the police and the judicial authorities. It`s main thrust related to reformulating and networking police, legal and social procedures.

Today it has established cooperation in the form of round table discussions and expert meetings.

Inter-disciplinary and inter-institutional expert groups cover police intervention, civil law, prosecution and penal law plus support programmes for women, children and young people.

BIG provides training courses for professionals, offers a lot of information material (for example guiding principles for policing in cases of domestic violence) and develops additional educational and training programmes for violent men.

Similiar networks were established in Bremen, Freiburg, Gladbeck, Hannover, Mecklenburg-West-Pommerania, Passau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Schleswig-Holstein and Stuttgart.

The "BIG Hotline for domestic violence against women" operates between 9 a.m. and midnight on 365 days a year, providing information, counselling and support for women and their children exposed to domestic violence. Evaluation showed their proactive approach to be extremely valuable for immigrant women (see: Support).

Signal is also a cooperation and model project between a big Berlin Hospital, NGOs and the Federal Ministry for Youth, Family, Seniors and Women. It offers on-site training and awareness-raising for hospital staff in the field of domestic violence. Staff is encouraged to speak to a woman who seems battered, should interview her about her needs, should examine new and old wounds, note all findings, establish safety and provide the patient with numbers of counselling centres and shelters.

Key factors in successful work against HRV are the provision of safety for victims and those who support them and the close and reliable cooperation of different social actors. Intercultural teamwork of professionals is needed to make very clear that the victims do not have to abandon their cultural background in total but find support concerning the violation of their human rights also by people of the same cultural background. Support has to be offered on various levels (psychological, medical, social, financial) and in an intensive way since the victim`s private resources are likely to be low when they oppose their families.

14 Contact list HRV

14.1 NGOs

Intercultural Meetingpoints for Girls, Counselling for Girls

Azade

Interkultureller Mädchentreff Bonn

Dorotheenstr. 20

53111 Bonn

Tel.: 0228/65 94 91

Beraberce e.V.

Türkisch-Deutscher Mädchenverein

Putlitzstr. 18

10551 Berlin- Mitte

Tel.: 030/ 3967561 oder 3967561

Elisi Evi

Skalitzer Str. 50/51

10997 Berlin

email: Elisi-evi@gmx.de

MaDonna

Falkstr. 26

12053 Berlin

Tel.: 030 / 621 20 43

Fax: 030 / 621 20 48

email: madonnamaedchenpower@web.de

www.madonnamaedchenpower.de

Rabia

Interkulturelles Feministisches Mädchenprojekt

Wrangelstraße 84A

10 997 Berlin

Tel.: 030/ 611 41 33

Fax: 030/ 61 07 68 76

email: kontakt@maedchenprojekt-rabia.de

www.maedchenprojekt-rabia.de

Intercultural Neighbourhood Centres for Women, Counselling for Women

Al Dar Berlin

Al-Dar Arabischer Frauenverein e.V.

Sachsendamm 66

10829 Berlin

email: arabischer_frauenverein_al_dar@hotmail.com

Al Nadi

Moselstr. 3

12 159 Berlin

email: Alnadi@nachbarschaftsheim-schoeneberg.de

Bacim

Oldenburger Str. 22

10551 Berlin

Tel.: 030 395 30 37

www.drk_berlin.de/kv_city/bacim.htm

email: bacim@berlin_city.drk.de

Hinbun

Jagowstr. 19

13585 Berlin Spandau

Tel.: 030/336 66 62

email: hinbun@t-online.de

Infrau

Infrau - Interkulturelle Frauenarbeit e.V.

Berger Straße 211

60385 Frankfurt

Tel.: 069/ 45 11 55

email: info@infrau.de

TIO

Köpenicker Str. 9b

10997 Berlin Kreuzberg

Tel.: 030/612 20 50

email: tio-ev@gmx.de

Ugrak

Beratung für Frauen aus der Türkei

Weisestr. 36

12049 Berlin

Tel.: 030/ 62 11 03 7

On supra-regional scale in many German cities:

IAF Verband binationaler Famlien und Partnerschaften

(Association of Binational Families and Partnerships)

www.verband-binationaler.de

Support and Counselling for Homosexuals with Migrant Background

Miles

Zentrum für Migranten, Lesben und Schwule

Willmanndamm 8

10827 Berlin

www.miles.lsvd.de

Crisis intervention, referral to safe shelters for women

BIG e.V.

Berliner Initiative gegen Gewalt gegen Frauen

Koordinationsstelle des Berliner Interventionsprojekts gegen häusliche Gewalt

Postfach 61 04 35 10927 Berlin

www.big-interventionszentrale.de

BIG-Hotline: 030/611 03 00

www.big-hotline.de

email: info@big-hotline.de

Intercultural Women`s Shelter/Housing Project/Counselling Service

Since 2002 exists an intercultural women`s shelter in Berlin. It offers emergency sheltering for 23 women, longterm housing for another 25 and a counselling centre. The staff is of multicultural background, language and integration courses are offered and there is a pool of interpreters.

Postfach 37 05 42

14135 Berlin

email: Interkulturelleinitiative@t-online.de

Crisis intervention, Shelter for Girls and Young Women

Papatya at Berlin can take in 8 girls/young women aged 13-21 years, who face HRV and want to leave their family, at a shelter with secret address. All-women staff of Turkish, Kurdish and German background takes care of them around the clock and looks for a new perspective with them. The girls stay as short as possible and as long as needed - mostly about 2 months. The team supports them in their dispute with their family and in building up a new life of their own if they choose for this option.

Papatya has built up an European network of partner organisations through the Daphne program and has founded the Berlin Work Group Against Forced Marriage. At present internet counselling for victims of HRV is established.

Papatya

C/o Jugendnotdienst

Mindener Str. 14

10589 Berlin

info@papatya.org

email: www.papatya.org

Longterm Shelters for Girls and Young Women

Imma

Initiative Münchener Mädchenarbeit

Jahnstr. 38

80469 München

Tel.: 089/238891-20

www.imma.de

email:kontakt.informationsstelle@imma.de

Kardelen youth coop for young female migrants

Kardelen c/o Woge e.V.

Bahrenfelder Str. 244

22765 Hamburg

Tel.: 040-39 84 26-0

email: Info@wogeev.de

www.wogeev.de/wogeev/maedchenwohngemeinschaften

Rosa at Stuttgart takes in 8 young women of non-German background between 16 and 21 at a secret address for longterm housing and psychosocial support. Rosa shelters victims of HRV and hopes to open a specialised counselling centre in the near future, depending on financing of the federal state Baden-Würtemberg.

Rosa e.V.

Postfach 40 10 67

70410 Stuttgart

Tel: 0711- 53 98 25

www.graswurzel.net/253/rosa/shtml

emai: redaktion@graswurzel.net

Saadet Youth coop for girls from islamic background

Saadet c/o AWO e.V.

Postfach 130 104

90113 Nürnberg

www.awo-nbg.de/Seiten/Kinder/Kl_Weges

Wasta at Cologne has sheltered young girls up to 18 years with an islamic background. It supported in cases of emergency as well as for a longterm perspective. It had to close down in 2004 due to a lack of referrals through Social Services (see above).

Women`s and Human Rights Organisations

Terre des Femmes is a human rights organisation fighting for the rights of women. TdF is working on different fields, each year one issue is put on the agenda in a public campaign: for example against female genital mutilation, in 2003 against forced marriage (was prolonged in 2004) and in 2004 against violence in the name of honour. TdF also supports women`s organisations abroad (a women`s shelter in Algeria, a school in Afghanistan).

Terre des Femmes e.V.

Postfach 2565

72015 Tübingen

Tel.: 07071- 79 73 0

www.terre-des-femmes.de

email: tdf@womensrights

Amnesty for Women supports female migrants of all nationalities, aims at enforcing their rights and improving their legal status.

Städtegruppe Hamburg

Grosse Bergstr. 231

Tel.: 040- 38 47 53

email: Info@amnestyforwomen.de

Solwodi e.V.